My Christmas and New Year were spent travelling - and researching some future magazine articles. After spending 20 hours on a coach and only crossing one state, I have come to the conclusion that Brazil is a big place. For this month I am going to focus on just one place - a beach which has become a legend in back-packing circles, a beach which is consistently been voted as the "World's Best Beach", and one which has yet to be turned in to an ecological disaster zone by that smug git Leonardo Di Caprio.

I am, of course, talking about Jericoacoara (or Jeri as it is known to us old South America hands). Jericoacoara is about 3°S/41°W and has a estimated population of about 1000 persons, and 7 million donkeys.

It was, until about 15 years ago, an isolated fisherman village, without any contact with modern civilization. There were no roads, no electricity, no phones, no TV's, no newspapers, and money was something almost useless, since deals were based on trading fish for goods (and you all laughed when I talked about the economy in Tibet). I was there a few weeks ago, and things have changed a little bit - it is no longer possible to barter a haddock or even a kipper for an icy cold beer.

You reach Jericoacoara directly from Fortaleza in about 7 hours (317 km). There are a million and one tour companies along the beach which are just aching to sell you a tour, or, for the more adventurous you can take a bus direct from the bus station. Of course, for the real fun-of-the-fair experience try to hitch onto a party of 35 drunken Brazilian engineers as I did.

In 1984, the place was declared an "Environment Protection Area" by a federal law which has presumably limited the town's development - I think it is only the third place in the world where I couldn't buy a McDonald's.

Although tourism has reached the place, it still keeps the unhurried and peaceful way of life - and I thought life at work was relaxed. Because of the EPA law, it is forbidden to hunt, pollute, make roads, and buildings are limited to the village area (the EPA has 200 sq km, and the village is 1 sq km big) which looks like the place war-torn foreign correspondents either go for a vacation or to learn their trade. Building of more accommodation was forbidden in 1992, in order to limit the quantity of tourists (but not, I am sad to say, the quality,) in the place - I remain skeptical after spending New Years there when it seemed half of Brazil was there bombed out of their minds on the local poison and cheap beer.

What does the name "Jericoacoara" mean? Although there are several versions for the origin of the name "Jericoacoara", the most probable is that it is indigenous, from the tupi-guarani language: yuruco (hole) + cuara (turtle), meaning "hole of the turtles", in a reference to the fact that Jericoacoara is a beach where seaturtles come to make holes to lay their eggs.

But some old fishermen do not agree with this version taken out of history books. They say that the name has it´s origin in the small hill beside the village (where the lighthouse is situated). The hill, when seen from high seas, has the shape of a laying alligator, which in a local expression would be "Jacareqüara", and with time the name ended up changing to Jericoacoara - isn't it amazing what an anthropologist will tell you for a few beers?

You leave the bus in Jijoca de Jericoacoara (a small village which exists it seems to sell tourists beers and hammocks - which no South American traveller should ever be without). From this point the trip gets interesting as you transfer to ancient pick-up trucks, which my fantastic guide book to the area warns 'will probably be falling apart anyway'. The one I travelled in certainly was and was held together with the requisite number of pictures of saints, a bit of wire and a lot of luck.

Although the beach is said to be one of the world's best many travellers, including the author, have reported that the beach is not very attractive (my long suffering and much harassed ecologist-girlfriend disagrees with me on this matter - she tells me she is never wrong). Generally, there is a hard wind blowing and you feel sandblasted with grey sand after a few minutes. To find a place in the sea deep enough for swimming you could possibly walk miles, I gave up when I reached customs in Gabon. So this is definitely NOT the place for hanging on the beach - most people go there to drink themselves senseless and party, not admire the stunning dunes.

Climbing the impressive 40m high main dune is, however, obligatory for sunsets, sunrises and millennium celebrations. Surfing down the sheer side of the dune on an old tea tray is only for crazies. Surprisingly enough, the dune is known as "Duna do Pôr do Sol" (Sunset Dune).

Going to the east you will find not too far from Jeri (some 3 km away) the famous rock by the sea shore nicknamed "Pedra Furada" (Stone with a hole), where you can see the sunset right through the hole in the stone - I wonder many beers it took to name it?

The "Lagoa do Paraíso" (Paradise Lagoon) is situated 20 km east from Jeri going through the inland or 10km with buggy going through the dunes: the buggy driver takes up to 5 people in a buggy in the morning to the lagoon, coming back in the evening. I found this trip particularly crap - nice drive, good empty beaches and then a tatty lagoon, no shade and warm beer. However, almost everyone else on the trip enjoyed it and declared it 'beautiful'. I enjoyed getting stuck in the sand dunes on the way back much more.

So, the question is - is it worth the effort? Well, if you are the kind of person used to travelling to developed places, with comfort and good facilities for tourists (i.e you have never been to China), then Jericoacoara is not the place for you. In my opinion there are far nicer beaches close by, many of which are yet to be 'discovered'.

But if you are more concerned in getting bombed out of your mind, partying till the sun rises and rushing around in buggies, Jeri might just be the place for you. I met many people who had come for a few days and loved it so much that they stayed for a week or more - however, I also met some people who were counting the hours till they could leave. I also met a guy from Liechtenstein - but that's another story.

Surreal Tourist Activity of the Month
So, after sending you off last month to the shopping centre, this month I am suggesting you head off to the dead centre of Fortaleza - the local cemetery.

Each morning when I take the bus to work (number 71 from the beach front), I pass a magnificent Baroque graveyard. This heady mixture of piety and crazy Brazilian architecture, with large rambling tombs packed almost on top of each other is definitely worth a look. It might kill an otherwise dead day. It's a dead-cert killer day out. It would be murder to miss it!

Questions?
If you want more information about this area you can email the author or check out our South America Insiders page.